Forests Forever Action Alerts

Marbled murrelets by Larry Eifert.

Posted 2/4/98

President Bill Clinton on Nov. 14, 1997, signed the Interior Appropriations Bill, H.R. 2107, which approved $250 million for the purchase of 7,500 acres (13 percent) of Headwaters Forest, located 15 miles southeast of Eureka, Calif. Environmental groups including Forests Forever had opposed the bill because it carried some 15 anti-environmental riders, including several affecting Headwaters, the largest parcel of unprotected ancient redwoods in the world.

Now the State of California, under the terms of last fall's much-publicized "deal," must commit an additional $130 million for the acquisition to go through. California Gov. Pete Wilson has asked the legislature to place the Watershed, Wildlife, and Parks Improvement Bond of 1998, on the June ballot. Legislators must approve the $800 million bond, which includes $130 million for Headwaters, by Feb. 9 for it to appear on the June ballot.

Environmentalists have opposed a June date for the measure because the "deal"-mandated Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), to cover PL's entire holdings, would not yet be ready for review by state legislators. Key state legislators said they would reject the bond measure unless the HCP provided sufficient protection for endangered species and ancient redwoods.

In other recent Headwaters-related developments, the California Department of Forestry (CDF) informed Pacific Lumber Co. (PL) on Dec. 18, 1997, that the company would not be issued a standard Timber Operator's License in 1998 because of PL's repeated failure to comply with the state's Forest Practices Act. CDF cited 103 violations of the Forestry Practice Rules by PL over the past three years. Many of these violations degraded critical habitat for imperiled salmon populations.

As the situation developed, a "provisional" license on Dec. 30 was issued to PL. Under this license, as long as PL commits no violations until January, 1999, the company may continue logging. If PL's Timber Operator's License is revoked PL probably would be forced to hire costly "gyppo" contract loggers to harvest timber on the company's 190,233 acres.

The nation watched in horror as pepper spray was applied directly to the eyes of non-violent Headwaters protesters locked down in the office of Rep. Frank Riggs (R-Windsor) on Oct. 16, 1997. Caught on videotape and broadcast nationwide, the incident drew a storm of criticism from across the country and focused publicity on Humboldt County and Headwaters.

As a result nine of the demonstrators on Oct. 30, 1997, filed suit against the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department and the Eureka Police Department for violations of their civil rights. The protesters say that authorities unlawfully applied the pepper spray, which is meant to be sprayed from a distance of over three feet, on them on three occasions. The protesters' case is currently in the discovery stage and is expected to be heard sometime in March in the San Francisco District Court, though no date had been set at press time.

Northern California citizens filed two lawsuits against the MAXXAM Corp., parent company of PL, on Dec. 2, 1997, in Humboldt County Superior Court. In one suit 38 residents of Stafford are suing for damages resulting from poor logging practices that allegedly caused landslides that destroyed or damaged 10 Stafford homes last winter. The complaint says MAXXAM knew of the inherent dangers associated with logging on steep slopes but concealed this knowledge from state officials who approved the Timber Harvest Plan (THP). Despite this knowledge, the suit claims, MAXXAM did nothing to mitigate the damages. The residents are seeking an injunction to prohibit PL from logging in and around Stafford, as well as unspecified general and compensatory damages.

Another suit filed by two families who live on the banks of the Elk River southeast of Eureka alleges that logging by PL has damaged the river, which no longer runs clear. The suit holds that MAXXAM is in violation of the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act by concealing from state and local officials evidence that MAXXAM knew logging in the watershed would cause stream-bank erosion and thus degrade the Elk River. The stream had been home to a thriving salmon population.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) on Nov. 26, 1997, signed on as a co-sponsor to the Oakland-based Rose Foundation's MAXXAM shareholder resolution. The measure calls on MAXXAM to elect all its directors annually, ending its current system in which one-third of the board comes up for election every three years. The current system prevents shareholders from annually registering their views on the board members' performance, both collectively as well as individually.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Oct. 27, 1997, passed legislation that will prohibit the City and County of San Francisco from using old-growth redwood products. San Francisco now has joined a coalition of businesses, building professionals and concerned citizens that have pledged not to use old-growth, or "clear-heart," grade redwood.

"The ancient redwoods are synonymous with California itself," said Supervisor Leslie Katz, who on July 14, 1997, introduced the bill. "We can all agree that there is no need to cut the last of the remaining ancient forests to make products for which we now have alternatives. Only four percent of California's ancient redwood forests are still standing, and this may be our last chance to preserve these treasures."

In 1997 Forests Forever collected 11,585 letters concerning the "deal" and other Headwaters issues, as well as garnering over 38,000 commitments to write or call.

While many significant strides have been made in the fight to save Headwaters, more must be done.

Contact your state senator and urge him/her to oppose the $130 million bond vote prior to approval of an environmentally acceptable HCP for all of PL's timberlands. Let them know an acceptable HCP would:

• protect all the ancient redwoods on PL's holdings.

• safeguard habitat for endangered and threatened species including the Marbled murrelet and Coho salmon.

For contact information on your state senator, check the California Government section in your phonebook or find out online at http://www.sen.ca.gov/www/leginfo/finger.html

Environmental activists apparently have thwarted Gov. Pete Wilson's attempt to include state funding for the purchase of 13 percent of Headwaters Forest in a parks bond measure on the June ballot. As a result, Wilson now is pressuring state lawmakers to support an unconditional direct appropriation of the $130 million that last year's flawed public-private "deal" requires.

Urge our legislators not to approve state funding for the Headwaters "deal" until an acceptable Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) has first been agreed upon. An acceptable HCP would include protection for all ancient redwoods and endangered species, including the Coho salmon and Marbled murrelet. Tell them the HCP must be made available for public comment before state funding moves forward.

Contact:

John Burton
Senate President Pro Tem
P.O. Box 942848
Sacramento, CA 94248
916/445-1412 phone
916/327-7229 FAX

Antonio Villaraigosa
Assembly Speaker
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249
916/445-0703 phone
916/445-0764 FAX

In a recent development the Elk River Timber Co. has filed a Timber Harvest Plan (THP) to log 705 acres in the middle of the 7,500-acre Headwaters Forest "deal" area. The THP includes large second-growth redwoods– critical habitat for the federal- and state-listed Marbled murrelet. The logging plan, which lies in the heart of the most pristine watershed in Headwaters Forest, for two and a half miles parallels the Coho salmon spawning waters of the South Fork of the Elk River.

THP 1-97-520 also threatens the infamous "deal"of last fall, for which state funding has not yet been secured. The THP is a part of 9,600 acres the Elk River Timber Co. is under agreement to transfer to Pacific Lumber Co. If the THP is approved, logging could begin in the 705 acres, which is part of the buffer zone included in the area covered by the "deal."

Tom Osipowich
California Department of Forestry
P.O. Box 670
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
707/576-2275 phone
707/576-2608 FAX

The public comment period for this THP is expected to close soon. Call, write or FAX today and urge Osipowich to deny Elk River Timber's THP. Tell him THP 1-97-520 would undermine species-protection and thwart progress toward saving the 60,000-acre Headwaters Forest.

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